Can Technology Solve the Restaurant Staffing Shortage?

According to new federal data, the restaurant industry has lost 5.9 million jobs due to the pandemic-related closure of dine-in services — roughly two-thirds of restaurant employees in the U.S. Now restaurants are navigating through the post-pandemic phase, but the recent wave of reopenings across the country has come with its own set of challenges.  

The constantly evolving pandemic-related regulations and confusion forced many restaurants to lay off and then rehire staff. Weary of the uncertainty, many restaurant workers found more secure employment in other industries.

Now with the nationwide return to dine-in business, the restaurant employee shortage may be one of the biggest barriers to successful reopening and the survival of many businesses. Additional hiring challenges include lingering employee anxieties around virus exposure, a shortage of seasonal foreign workers, and generous stimulus payments that compete with restaurant wages. 

Over the past year, a record number…